Cavity walls of a masonry veneer tied to a stud backup wall are commonly utilized in construction to provide for an esthetically pleasing appearance while being less expensive than solid masonry walls. One common type of cavity wall used in both residential and commercial buildings is a brick veneer tied to a stud backup wall.
The brick veneer is tied to the stud backup wall by use of masonry or brick veneer anchors. There are two types of such anchors in common use. Flush mount anchors which mount to the exterior of the stud backup wall, and through the wall anchors which pass through the exterior wall covering and are mounted to the side of the stud in the interior of the wall cavity. Flush mount brick veneer anchors offer the advantage that it is not necessary to cut or pierce the covering material for the stud backup wall in order to install the anchors. This can maintain the integrity of the properties of the exterior covering of the stud backup wall as well as being simpler to install.
One disadvantage of flush mount anchors is that such anchors are generally L-shaped with the base of L providing an anchor plate for attachment to the stud backup wall and the leg of the L provide a tie wire holding portion with a slot at its end through which a brick tie wire is inserted. The brick tie wire is mortared between two rows of bricks to provide a secure connection between the brick veneer and backup wall. The disadvantage of this type of construction is that the mounting holes are placed in the anchor plate to the side of the brick tie portion and thus any compression or extension forces exerted through the brick tie wire to the brick veneer anchor are offset from the anchor points which can cause the anchor plate to pivot about the anchor points and weaken the connection between the anchor plate and the stud backup wall. This offset can also result in damage to the exterior covering as the anchor plate rotates about the anchor points.
There thus remains a need for a flush mount brick veneer anchor which transfers the load from the tie wire holding portion directly through the anchor points to the stud backup wall.